Nothing Meant
by Jaigagne
Summary: Alright, here I am again. This fic starts up at 2.03 Red Light on the Wedding Night and continues on it's own path from there Well here goes nothing, littlerally. Ten now Up! Double digits sugar!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing alright, okay well I own "Nothing" the fic, but I don't own the characters, the setting, the show, you get it you've heard this a hundred times before.

**A/N:** Greetings Copper and company! Hi, long time no update huh? Lol I know I haven't updated my other fic in months but that's because I decided to end it there because I wrote myself into a happy little ending corner on accident. So I came home tonight from my friend Inu's house to catch up on the re-runs I had missed out on only to find them riddled with Max, which is bad. So I know this fic might seem like a bit of an embellishment on what actually happened but it's not, I'm changing things. So thank you for your patience and if you even read the note –which I myself sometimes, okay well most of the time, skip over then I thank you doubly So without further ado, here goes Nothing, literally.

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Gathering up some last minute mail from her post box, Babet's eyes wandered to the Gilmore house as she saw the familiar truck pulling into to the grass next door. Ready to brush aside her usually optimistic suspicions about Luke's intentions because of the upcoming wedding, she turned back to her house only to double back at the site of the contents of the then parked truck. There in all its glory was a chuppah, being carried down to the lawn by Luke. Babett stood there in a bit of a daze as she watched him unload it. Babett began chuckling to herself as she saw Lorelai enter the scene with the same expression she had had just moments ago. Standing in silence she tried to imagine them together like they should be. She wasn't sure about this "Max" and neither was the rest of the town to be honest, well not openly so as far as Lorelai could tell. Amazingly enough they had been very discreet on the entire subject lately_…"Not that that would stop Luke from doing the exact opposite."_ The thought struck when Luke and Lorelai stood under the homemade gesture, she almost fell over with the foreshadowing of it all, or how it should have been. Babett's gaze followed Luke as he left in his truck, she could tell that Lorelai's was doing the same, not by her eyes but the way she turned to watch him. Babett could almost see the shine from Lorelai's eyes from where she stood.

After the truck left Lorelai sighed and turned away from the looming chuppah. Before entering her newly man-invaded home she caught sight of Babett heading back into her own house, looking like she was proclaiming something beyond her door, probably something to Morey. Lorelai smiled at the stableness that resided in her neighbors lives, not mental stableness of course but the dedication and love…now that she thought about it, it was kind of scared her. It had scared her before but never really struck that particular cord really. The cord that kind of brought back Luke's words about that maybe it might be possible to live and grow together, but did she want to grow and evolve to be more "with" Max. The thought of having to wait every morning while he orders at Luke's and having to go through the ordeal of figuring out how to get Taylor to supply the "Wall Street Journal" so Max could be happy every morning, not to mention sleeping in "her" house in the same bed with him every night of the rest of her life_. "She couldn't run into Rory's bed every night, could she?" _And then it snapped, before she new it she was in her room packing listening to Rory talking from the hallway about grabbing cd's, but it wasn't registering.

All of the racked up doubt in her head was beginning to cause a bit of a melt down concerning this future she was supposed to be contemplating, and it wasn't like her. The running, sure, Lorelai could admit that the whole commitment issue was not one of her most studied up on subjects in the basic know how's of life and yet it was written about in half of all of those songs. _"Wait, what songs?"_ amazingly enough she couldn't think of any, but she was sure that they were indeed there. Probably not one of the top-forty… The thoughts over lapped with her daughter's talking of the sun's direction in the window and her own talking about the lack of tunage they had and the impact of the rest of the trip because of it. Luckily for her conscience another sign passed by that apparently had started with another "D" starting it off. Which instead of the word's death and doom that Rory had clearly associated the letter "d" to, the ever familiar popped up instead, "disappointment and well, fear of commitment." Okay so it didn't start with a "d" but it came to mind anyway. But all road signs aside, what she did felt right like she was avoiding something or better yet heading towards something.

Sookie felt the same way while putting some of the finishing touches on Lorelai's wedding cake. She couldn't stop smiling to herself as she embellished on the icing. While flinging the knife she was using around while exclaiming how beautiful or better yet handsome, Clyde was getting. Noticing this, her cooking staff was dodging left and right as Sookie happily swept across the floor with her frosting bag in hand talking to herself in her usual way. Only to be stopped by a phone call, which in affect had her slicing Clyde in uneven section and passing him around. While taking her first bite into the cake that she had begun decisions on days, maybe even weeks in her own head she thought of what the cause might have been. Sookie then about dropped her slice of Clyde when she ran into Kirk standing in a corner of the Independence Inn's kitchen. "Kirk?"

"Yes?" Kirk pulled his own slice to his mouth while looking at Sookie.

"What are you doing here Kirk?" The initial surprise had worn off in the first five seconds of seeing him standing there in his usual manner, oblivious.

"Eating wedding cake, and you?"

"I work here Kirk."

"Yes, I know."

"Then why did you, wait, no. Why are you still here Kirk?" Ah yes, a better question. Sure Kirk showing up in random locations from time to time was a common and an increasingly excepted fact but, _why?_

"So Lorelai left town huh?"

"Apparently, how do you know that Lorelai left town?"

" Well, Babett and Miss Patty were talking about her and Rory leaving with a lot of bags this morning and not to mention some of the frantic packing yelling that took place after Luke left the chuppah on the lawn last night. Also you just cut up her wedding cake that we've been working on all morning and then some, little to much flour if you ask me-" Sookie then abruptly cut Kirk off at that point.

"Wait, wait, back up." This was getting to be a little bit too much for the chef to handle at this point. Where was all of this coming from all the sudden anyways? And why was she suddenly the last to know, for god sake, Kirk knew! "Luke brought her a chuppah?"

"Yep, home made apparently." Kirk took another bite of his cake slice.

"And the hit's just keep on coming." Sookie passed another slice of cake to a passing employee

"So where'd she go?"

"No idea Kirk."

"You think Max knows?"

"Yet again, no idea Kirk." Sookie began walking towards the kitchen's exit with another slice of cake in hand to taunt Michel with while Kirk followed behind. "Hey, what do you mean to much flour!"

"Here." Kirk passed off another slice to someone standing near the door as he began to walk at a faster pace in order to get away from the frosting armed Sookie following closely behind him.

"Um, thanks." he watched Sookie and Kirk walk off then stared down at the piece of wedding cake after hearing their conversation, hearing that he was now out of the picture and his guess was, Luke was behind it.

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TBC, if you like.

En,

Oh, and just on a closing note, this is all in favor of the LL.

I forgot how to spell huppa, and it's late, I'm tired, I'm sorry. Oo I found it, never mind, hopefully I'll correct all of them.

It some how has also slipped my mind on how to spell Babett, please don't hate me if I spelled it wrong. I know you that at least one of you will probably send me the correct spellings and such if you review, it just breaks my heart that I can't spell. Oh and my grammars probably quite off as well if I'm going to start apologizing.


	2. Chapter 2

Lorelai lay quietly beside her daughter. The floral walls had begun to loose there spinning illusion that she didn't quite know how to cope with. The dark seemed to bring out thoughts at what she had just incurred on her self as well as her daughter. Turning she looked at Rory sleeping peacefully. Unable to sleep herself Lorelai turned again to the flower print wall.

Everything just seemed to have slipped by since the talk she had with Luke. The growing and evolving thing had brought to mind doubts in her mind that she wasn't quite sure how to cope with at this point. It had all gotten so jumbled. First she was sitting in her home looking at her ring while smiling, the next she was outside standing under a chuppah with Luke, having a private moment that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. It somewhat frustrated her that she could be swayed so easily to think that she might be making a mistake, and with this in mind, she ran. She ran again only to hurt her daughter, her fiancé, and herself. Though she figured that it was, in the long run, the best thing to do…and yet she still questioned her exact motives.

The evolving and growing conversation couldn't exactly qualify, as it's starting point in her mind.

"_Sure there would still be emotional growth without the presence of Max" _she figured. But most of the togetherness would be spent with her spinster couch and her business. Though she supposed that a spinster couch was better than Max's hand thick books that would have been somehow occupying her house. The fact of books being any where other than Rory's room made a smile escaped. Though it may have been a slight one it was mostly in the affect that it would have never happened. They would have intruded on her movies. Which wouldn't have sit well. The "Labyrinth" with Bowie next to Shakespeare did seem oddly poetic in a way though. But for some reason she would have rather seen something along the lines of Bert on her table or nutmeg resting next to her coffee maker, odd thoughts indeed.

The darkened room seemed to dim lower as her thoughts plunged deeper into her memories, trying to figure out where all of this doubt of her marriage to Max really began. It seemed that she could find things from months before, but none really stuck out to her.

The dim lights and the flooding memories brought familiar scents and visions to her as her eyes began to weigh down to her pillow. Her senses heightened as her eyes closed leaving her with the scent of coffee in the air and what she could have sworn was flannel against her cheek as the world went dark.

Luke awoke to knocking echoing through his apartment. As he shifted to open is eyes and feel for his alarm that he was sure to soon go off he missed and instead leaned upon the air beside him, causing a rolling action that ended abruptly on the floor. A groan escaped as an empty beer bottle rolled away from him.

The knocking was persistent non the less. After gathering himself, Luke shifted to an upright position, still denying the trace of any hangover.

Reaching for the door the knocking continued and without much thought because of the headache that was slowly creeping beneath his skin he instinctively began talking to who he thought was the only person that he could think of as a feasible possibility.

"Lorelai?" The name slipped gruffly from his mouth as he opened the door. "What are you-"

He instantly stilled his talking, as the person standing at his door was deffinatly _not_ Lorelai.

"Sorry to disappoint," The voice then heard was mostly certainly not the vivacious sound he was so accustom to hearing at his door, or in his diner for that matter…It sounded suspicious and suppressed.

"Max?" It was mostly a shot in the dark at this point but while he's already assuming who's at his door, why not start now. Sure they had met before but things were still a little fuzzy. "Um, would you like to come in?" It was a few more words than he expected to use, most people seemed to get a lot less, but he had a feeling that it might take a bit more than a the apparent "monosyllable" that Lorelai had always said he was so known for.

"That might be a good start." What Max meant by that didn't quite sit well with Luke. _"Why was he here?" _Might have been a better way for Luke to start his greeting.

"Is Lorelai all right?" This seemed like the next logical step of questioning. Why else would her fiancé be at his door like this at this time. As far as Luke knew, he was usually the only one up at four or so at the morning. Though taking another look at Max, it seemed like he hadn't slept, The bags under his eyes and the familiar stench of alcohol seemed to be coming more from Max than himself.

"I was hoping that you could tell me that."

This was becoming unsettling.

" I mean, Lorelai and you seem to be closer than ever."

The twang in his unexpected guest's voice was beginning to tick him off at this point.

"And how do you figure that?"

"Well let's see…Lorelai's disappeared after apparently talking with you and now there's a giant huppa in her front yard."

"It's a chuppah..and I have no idea where Lorelai has gone, or why." After Luke said that, of course millions of maybe reasons flooded his aching mind. _"Could it have been the talk that they had, or did it run deeper than that? Or was it just her attempt at running away again?"_ The thinking was cut off by Max entering further into his apartment, seemingly giving it a once over, looking for traces of Lorelai for all he knew.

He was right.

Max stood there angery, hungover, and tired. Something both he and Luke had in common at this point. Both thinking, both wondering, both clueless.

Max looked about the small apartment room, noting the single bed and the small kitchen. There wasn't a trace of coffee on the counter. But that only made him more determined to find something that would give him reason enough to blame Luke.

Luke watched Max's eyes go about the room, unsure of what his next move to be. He would have to get to opening soon…._"Wait, how did he get in?"_ It was something he would have to investigate at a later date. In the meantime there was a man that had been proclaimed by the town, his unofficial rival. Thinking of the town only kept the need to get Max out of his apartment so Kirk wouldn't enter in whatever way he had gotten there in the first place.

"So you really have no idea where she is?"

"No." He wasn't worth the extra words at this point. Apparently Max had hopped on the crazy bandwagon with the rest of the town. That was Max's fault, not his. If Lorelai had ran, then that was that, he was gone and it was time he accepted that. "What are you going to do about it?"

"_Wait, was that encouragement? What was he doing? The bandwagon was in his favor wasn't it? Some crazy thought that the town had gotten that him and Lorelai were meant to be. Max was riding full speed right along with them, and he had just asked him what he was going to do about it. Those stupid anvils from the cartoons that Lorelai and Rory had talked about so much might as well have landed on me right here and now."_

"Go after her I guess."

"_Damn." _It echoed in Luke's mind and even escaped just slightly.

"Bye Luke." With that Max turned on his heel and left, leaving Luke with a headache, a tear in his judgment…and a deep-set spite now lingering for Max. Luke pulled on a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. Leaving a sign marked "gone fishing" and a annoyed Kirk in his wake.

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Thank you's and tears for the two that reviewed my first chapter.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Luke sat in his truck and paused while reaching to turn the key in the ignition. The thought of what he was doing, hadn't hit till that moment. Max's car was already gone, that much was apparent. His head still ached, why he had been drinking in the first place was a subject that he'd rather not wander to at that time. He was in the truck, and it was time to figure out where exactly he was going and he had to do it fast.

"Miss Patty."

The cell phone number of Lorelai Gilmore surprisingly was completely unknown to him. If anyone knew what it was, it would be her. The key now firmly turned and the gas petal under his foot he went to "Hello Magazine" and about ran her and Babett over, but instead he hit the fender of Taylor's car. Intentional or no, it felt good to take out some of his frustrations.

"Oh my god Luke, are you alright?" Miss Patty came up to his car window with a hand on her chest and Babett following close behind.

"I can't wait to see Taylor's face when he sees this." Babett stood next to Patty with a phone clasped in her pocket so she could start calling as soon as Luke had gone.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luke was impatient at this point and could only take a few seconds of pleasure of what he had just "accidentally" done to the parked car, which wasn't even in it's usual space. Which was something he would have to remember for his defense if he actually got out of Star's Hallow and back. "What's Lorelai's cell?"

"Um it's…" Miss Patty fumbled for her phone, slightly thrown off by the gruff demand.

"Never mind, just dial it."

"All right honey, hold on."

At the Bed and Breakfast Ladonn was cleaning around the room where her two younger guests were staying. She loved the company, and would have been just delighted if the two girls would have come down and stayed longer for breakfast but they seemed to have already left. While tidying up the mussed bed and the strewn clothes, the pants that she held in her hand began to vibrate. Perplexed by odd shivering in her and the low buzzing sound she decided that she would pick it up.

While the ringing still persisted Ladonn flipped the pink phone and answered. "Hello!" she quickly flipped through the guest book and found the name. "Lorelai's not here at the moment…but she is,.'satanic forces are at work here?'

"Um hello?" she heard the voice on the other line, while bringing her back from the guest book. "Who is this?"

"This is Ladonn at the Cheshire Cat Bed and Breakfast."

"Should I be worried about the devil worship?" Luke was now thoroughly confused about the number that was just dialed for him.

"Devil worship? What kind of place did they go?" Miss Patty tried to listen through the now half closed window. The truck had been on the fritz lately.

"Sounds like something kinky to me…"

"Oh, stop that Patty, she took Rory with her"

"That makes it all the better-"

"Would you two be quiet?" Luke whispered while holding the phone.

"We're just saying"

"Shh!"

Ladonn stood in the middle of the room now tring to sort out all the different voices she was hearing. "Hello? Would you like to leave a message?"

The phone on the other end cut off.

"Hmm, guess not." After shutting the phone she went to set it on the counter when another buzzing came. "Busy today aren't we. Hello?"

"Lorelai?"

"No, this is Ladonn speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Max, why are you on my fiancé's cell phone?"

"It rang."

'Oh of course' _Max was at the last bit of patience himself, he was stuck in traffic going in a direction that was a complete mystery to him, and he just now decided that maybe he should call to see where he was going._

"Never mind, where is she?"

Ladonn looked around for some sort of clue as to their current location, while setting down the book she remembered how she said she was in Publishing and how she had gotten a call before then. "At a publishing office, I assume. Are you the one who called yesterday?"

"No, I wasn't" _'Yesterday?'_ he thought. …_'Luke, and why a publishing office?" _Any idea why should would be at the office?"

"For work I assume."

_'Probably showing Rory something…'_ "Where is this?"

"Oh, this is the Cheshire Cat Bed and Breakfast of Connecticut, where satin is eternally at work apparently. Oh your fiancé's sense of humor, I tell you." Ladonn tried to laugh at this, but wasn't making that much progress in succession.

"Oh yes, that sense of humor." _'Luke must have lied if he called yesterday.' _ Max had ceased smiling from finding her at that point. It seemed that from looking at his map that he would have to somehow turn out of Hartford traffic, if that was even where he was in the first place.

"You have a nice day now!" Ladonn let out a chipper voice as she closed the phone yet again.

"Oh, you too." The phone had cut off before his bitter voice had reached the other side.

"What a nice man." With that Ladonn set down the phone and exited the room, unaware of the intervention she had just caused. "What are you doing on the stairs Sammy?"

TBC

Thank you to all of my reviewers you have no idea how much I appreciate your feedback. I hope to update again soon.

En


	4. Chapter 4

Luke pulled out of the curb and passed Miss Patty and Babett. Gypsy came up behind the two.

"What's up with him?"

"No clue sugar."

"I think he's gone after Lorelai."

"What happened to Taylor's car?"

"Oh honey, looks like Luke really put a dent in it."

Gypsy turned to look at the fender, as one of the headlights fell out. "Nice shot."

"Oh, Patty here comes Taylor."

"Bye honey."

Miss Patty and Babett hurried off across the block leaving Gypsy to watch a gaping Taylor approach her.

"W-what?"

"Would you like to pay for that with cash, credit, or would you prefer a check?"

Max had pretty much discarded the publishing thing as having any truth to it. He figured that he would stop at the B and B that night if he could and try to sort it all out. She must have had a good reason for leaving so abruptly. If that reason was Luke, he might have to except it and take her back anyways. He wouldn't forgive her, oh no, never that, but he would take her back.

Only, that wasn't his decision to make.

Lorelai and Rory were leaving the Harvard campus. Both covered in Harvard hat's and t-shirts, they were both smiling. Rory was imagining how she was going to be soon, a Harvard College student. Lorelai was smiling while trying to be happy for her daughter and covering up the fact the she her self had wanted to go there at Rory's age, but was already pregnant and didn't have much of a choice.

Rory looked over at her mother to see her smiling with her and decided that now was as good time as ever to strike up a convorsation that didn't involve Harvard's like of foam fingers.

"So Mom, what was that wood thing in our front yard anyway?"

Lorelai 's smile froze at this point, hoping to maybe avoid the subject.

"Who, brought it?"

"Luke." It appeared that the trains of her daughter's thoughts were going to hit anyway.

Apparently, her mother was trying to take on Luke's monosyllabic tendencies, which mean she had hit a nerve. "Luke huh, what's it for?"

"It's a chuppah."

"You mean one of those arches you get married on?"

"A Jewish one at that."

"Couldn't you get smited or something for that?"

"Guess we'll never know." Lorelai smiled for real this time, she had said the same thing to Luke when she first saw it on her front lawn.

"So why did you leave Max?"

"I thought we already went through this."

"Yes, but you never explained why, or how you came to the conclusion."

"I don't know." Lorelai sighed. Her daughter was apparently going to make her ask herself the hard questions again and come up with an actual answer. She herself was still unsure of how this had all happened.

"Did Dad do something?" Rory braced herself for the answer.

"No honey, your dad has nothing to do with it."

"Did Max do something?"

Lorelai could see hear the concern in her daughter's tone and decided that maybe she should figure out what had exactly happened the day that they left. She owed her daughter that much, not only had she run away from her daughter's might have been step-father, but her teacher as well.

"No, he didn't." Silence gave way to the sound of the car's engine working only to be interrupted again.

"Was it Luke?" The question came out meeker than intended and seemed stick in the air.

"I don't know." The answer was as meek as the question it self. She had dreamed that night, and had felt the flannel; the coffee still lingered because of the fresh cups they had picked up from the coffee stand. Visions of Luke came back to Lorelai as she sat in the car while Rory sat in silence, trying to work out what her mother had just said.

"Do you want to be with Luke?"

The question swept all the others away and hit Lorelai just like Luke had hit Taylor's car, it was an accident that she felt this way, it wasn't really intended, but that didn't mean that it didn't bring her some pleasure.

"I don't know."

A few hours later Luke begun to speed slightly as the Inn came into his sights. He subconsciously applauded himself for only having to ask for directions once…though it was from a woman, he would ignore that part. There was nothing wrong with it, it just didn't seem like something that he should be proud of.

The car door shut after him. Seeing Lorelai's jeep beside his gave him some comfort, not to mention that Max's car was no where in sight. Feeling confident he opened the door to the Cheshire Cat.

Rory on the other hand had gone out on a walk so she could clear her head from the affects of her mother's actions. The only thing she hadn't considered is that now she was an open target for conversation. She ducked behind a shrubbery as she discovered that the same couple from breakfast had spotted her, all she could do is wait and hope that they would leave. It wasn't embedded in her nature quite yet to run when her feet said go.

Lorelai was sitting in her room staring up at the only thing that wasn't flower covered, the ceiling. She had tried the floor but found that even it had a small flower pattern sewn into it. She sighed as the smell of coffee and the feel of flannel returned. Her eyes began to relax as the dream slipped in.

Max was caught in some of the worst traffic he had ever seen. After he had finally gotten out of Hartford, which he indeed was in, he found himself getting completely lost because he had ignored the lady from the gas station's advice about taking the back roads. Like any other man, he didn't appreciate a woman's sense of direction. Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, it began to rain.

"Great."

Rory about come to the conclusion that she would have to stay put at this point because she was surrounded. All of the guests had some kind of agenda that was yet again, not on the schedule.

She turned to get another look at her surroundings as a raindrop met her hand, causing her to stand and look at the sky.

"Oh, hello Rory!"

Rory averted her attention to the crowd of people who now had their eyes on her. "Hi." She smiled weakly at the greeting causing her shoulders to fall in defeat. _'Help.'_

Luke watched the water on the window pain as he waited at the front desk. He had already realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but he had accepted that when he hit Taylor's car. Nothing about this was meant to happen, but it was any way and he figured he might as well be apart of it and do what he should have done a long time ago.

"Would you like to ring the bell?"

TBC

Thanks for the reviews again. If you would really like to make my day, you could ring the purple button shaped bell right there at the bottom of the page. I know everyone asks that but it would be nice to here your criticisms and opinions, complements are nice as well.

En


	5. Chapter 5

Luke had finally gotten past the incessant "Would you like to ring the bell?" and had just gotten past his mental rant about the over sized cat on the stair, the coincidentally had just about stepped on. Causing the over sized tabby to go racing towards the counter he himself had just retreated from.

"Jeeze."

His breath had quickened by the time he made it to the door that he had eventually been directed to after a _very_ frustrating chat with the owner. His hand poised to knock, while at the same time the plan that he never made began to run through his mind, causing yet more flustering to occur in his hands. Swallowing the fear that he had been harboring since he had turned the keys in his truck he let his hand make contact with the flimsy wood of the door. Whoever the contractor was for this place should have been fired before the first nail had been even touched this door. But all thoughts aside, he was surprised to find that the door moved to open under his hand.

Slightly nervous and from the lack of "In here!" he was used to hearing whenever he knocked on the Gilmore's door he figured that he should look beyond the door for evidence if this was even her room.

Rory had completely missed her opportunity of any kind of narrow escape as soon as the rain had hit. She now resided under a pink umbrella that was being shared with her by the couple that she had met earlier. It may have been a different setting and time, but that didn't mean that they were going to give up the chance of carrying on the conversation concerning her and her "fella".

It was pouring at this point and considering that she didn't exactly feel like getting soaked in the rain with a limited supply of clothing in her and her mother's room, Rory was trapped.

"So how long have you been seeing this young man of yours?" The woman had been smiling at her the entire time, while still not so subtly mentioning her nephew and what a catch he was.

"Oh leave her be honey. I'm sure that she has other things to do than talk to us about her boyfriend."

Rory smiled gratefully at the woman's husband, trying to send a mental thank you. "Actually, I should probably be getting back to Mom, she said something about dinner earlier."

The escape was set.

Until of course, the husband added to his comment.

"Oh well, that's perfect!" He exclaimed as he took out his B&B schedule. "Dinner's right now, I almost forgot, why don't you join us?"

They had begun moving back towards the Cheshire Cat's entrance as they spoke, all of them huddling under the umbrella.

"Oh well-" Rory was about to refuse, but then she spotted something unsuspected in the parking lot ahead.

Luke's truck.

"What was that dear?" The woman smiled warmly at her.

Rory stared at the truck, with a small smile. "Actually, that would be great. I think my mom's sleeping, come to think of it."

"Great!"

"Looks like we're going to have you all to ourselves!"

"Guess so." Despite the fact that she had just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, or which ever way the saying went, Rory smiled. Hoping that her sacrifice was worth it.

Max, now finally getting to the end of traffic, sat impatiently in the driver's seat. Watching the windshield wipers go back in forth. The image was beginning to drill in his mind as he sat, wondering what might await him if he were ever to reach his destination.

The thought whether Luke was there or not. Though considering the traffic that surrounded him, he found it doubtful.

The doubts had been building in his mind as he sat. _"Where had it all gone wrong, when did he leave Lorelai's heart, was he ever even there in the first place."_ Mysterious as these thoughts were, he wouldn't solve anything just sitting there.

But to his disadvantage, traffic wasn't agreeing still.

Rory sat half-heartedly at the table. Boston Dentists was an understatement at this point. The profession maybe not, but the concept defiantly was a possibility. It seemed that she was the only subject that the other residents were interested in. They did of course bring up some of the aspects of their own lives, but some how everything ended up relating to her in some way. First they were talking about their kids and grandkids, some even their great grandkids and where they were at that time. Which of course came about the subject of her own hometown, what more her mother did for a living beyond the vague "publishing" answer. Which caused her answers to entail comments equally vague and full of unfortunate lies.

She made a note to blame her mother if she ever became a liar.

Luke was having the same kind of luck with his conscience. As the door opened and revealed the sleeping Lorelai it had been guarding, without much success I might add. He didn't know whether he should close the door and knock again, hopefully waking her up, or coming in and figuring out what to do from there.

Deciding that he wasn't quite ready or brave enough for this after all, he placed his hand on the knob and tried to put it back into it's original state. Only to freeze after the door began to creek, loudly.

Yet again cursing the contractor who picked out this door and the worker that installed it he pushed his hand forward to open the door, in an attempt to regain whatever courage he had had in the first place. Only to be meat by the full force of the creaking he had just tried to prevent.

He stepped forward, seeing Lorelai stir in the bed before him.

Upon entering he was struck by the "floral" of it all. _"Dear god, the floral."_ After grimacing at the flowery disarray that lay before him, he smiled at the thought of what Lorelai's reaction might have been to the spinning pattern that now surrounded him. He had finally gotten past the door way while he tried to avert his eyes from the wallpaper, the counters, the pictures, even the carpet as he looked at it closer. The bed, though the eyesore it was, had made up for it's faults by having the whole reason he had even woke up that morning laying in it.

"Lorelai."

"About time!" Traffic had cleared at last, with him only a half an hour for the Cheshire Cat, Max was quite pleased with himself for sticking it out as long as he had. Not that he had had much of a choice when he got on the one-way road in the first place, but it seemed like an accomplishment non-the-less.

Grinning he congratulated himself for leaving the gruff diner man in the dust behind him.

Not that he had ever known anything of any real truth or relevance in the first place, why should he be right now?

Rory sat in the dining room, now somewhat enjoying the conversation that was going about her, when she found that a writer was in her midst. _"Yet another reason she had to be thankful to Luke."_

Luke stood over the bed that held Lorelai and reached out his hand and brushed aside a stray curl, amazed that he had gotten this far

None of this was meant to happen, but sense when was anything if no one did anything about it?

-TBC-

Wow, it seems that I'm really into this story. I'm actually updating without anyone bugging me for a month lol. Your criticisms, comments, and everything else of the like are appreciated.

En


	6. Chapter 6

Lorelai turned under Luke's touch. She could smell the coffee now, _really_ smell it. The flannel that she had just been dreaming about seemed to have returned to her as she stirred.

Luke wasn't sure if he should freeze or hide at that point. He had finally gotten there to her but his words had left him the moment he had entered the room, he blamed the flowers. He never had been terribly comfortable with flowers. _"Damn flowers."_ The thought was irrelevant at this point. He was already trapped. Another creak from that door and she was sure to wake up, he didn't know how to handle that quite yet. He didn't know how to handle any of this quite yet. Come to think of it, it still wasn't a complete definite that she wasn't getting married in the first place. Though the outburst from Max earlier that day might have served as a pretty big clue.

She had stirred again, turning away from him. While the feeling of the flannel still lingered on her cheek she placed her hand to meet it, only to find her skin. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to return to her sleeping state, only to give in to the blurry image of the wall before her.

Luke, seeing this, had little choice at this point. _"Freeze it is."_

Lorelai, still half asleep, turned away from the pink flower that had been there to meet her first glance. To find the reason that she resorted to sleeping in the first place, Luke, looking down at her. Thinking that she had returned to her dream, only in a more intriguing position, she attempted speach.

"I thought you had gone away." She smiled sleepily at him and took his hand that had been lingering near her shoulder.

Luke was a little overwhelmed by the comment and pushed it aside as her thinking that she was Max, probably still half asleep. He responded to her with his silence, hoping that she might fall back to unconsciousness so he could leave and hope that she wouldn't remember that he had come.

"What's the matter? …You weren't so distant a minute ago." She giggled. The grogginess was beginning to clear from her mind but she pushed it aside as just falling into a deeper sleep.

Luke's eyes widened at this, _"She__had been awake. Oh god._ _How could he ever live this one down now?" _It was pretty certain to him that Lorelai would never let him live this down, leaving Stars Hallow to find her. Heck, he would mock it if some other poor sap had attempted it. But he was here now and something told him it was too late for hiding. Though the covers that Lorelai resided under looked like a pretty good spot to him.

Max on the other hand had made great strides in getting near his destination in a timely matter, all traffic aside. He had already driven past a sign advertising the "Cheshire Cat" about a mile or so back. It was only a matter of time until he was to get his fiancé back.

Nothing could ruin it for him now. All that was in the way was the road ahead, and by the looks of it, it wasn't going to be a long one.

But yet again, when was he ever meant to be right.

Rory had eaten about as much of the pot roast that she could muster at this point and was half-heartedly listening to one of the residence sitting across from her who was talking about a book that she had published a number of years ago. That was supposedly perfect reading for their young guest. The book sounded nice but she was mostly thinking about her mother's situation that was probably occurring upstairs.

Her thoughts continued to run down it's track but was abruptly stopped by more questions about the books that she had liked to read and several other equally general inquiries. But before she could begin to answer the ones that stuck out to Rory most, her attention was averted to the water logged man standing in the hallway.

This of course was more of a train wreck than she could have imagined.

Luke had gone into overdrive freeze mode as Lorelai laced his hand with hers and rolled over to face him better.

"Mhnm…"

Lorelai was beginning to drift back to sleep as she kept hold of his hand.

Luke, being thoroughly dazed by this, began to weight the possibilities of what exactly her meaning was. She seamed so relaxed, not at all the reaction he had braced himself for. Sure she had already made her usual pattern with her first comment but it seemed like the mocking wasn't quite happening. _"Could it be that she hadn't been just then dreaming of Max?"_ He didn't know what tortured him more at this point. His curiosity for what her meaning was. Or what exactly she had been dreaming about. All very perplexing, but apparently none of his questions were going to be answered by just standing there.

"Luke…" Lorelai felt so out of it…running away from a wedding without any regular consumptions of coffee would do that. _"Stupid B&B and their tea…"_ The thought seemed odd to her, for being in the middle of a dream. She had forgotten the first half but she felt Luke's flannel sleeve brushing gently against her fingertips. Convincing her that she was still in the middle of her evening bliss.

Luke felt Lorelai's grip tighten on his hand. Hearing his name come from her, in her some what sleeping state, had brought him some definite comfort that his coming might have been one of the best ideas he had since bringing the ice to Rory's birthday party .

But then again, Lorelai was still on the bed, assumingly dreaming about him in some way, and considering her earlier comment it had a pretty good chance of being in his favor. Things were still unclear and all he could do right now was stand there and hold her hand. In fear that she might wake up and find that his assumption might not have been what she had meant.

Luckily, he would get more time than Max had meant for him to find out.

"Mr. Medina?" Rory stood gaping.

"Oh, well hello Rory. Where's your mother?"

Max tried to keep his voice collected and in his usual speaking pattern, but the "too the point" approach gave him away to his student.

"What are you doing here?"

Rory excused herself from the table while smiling at it's concerned guests, trying to reassure them that ever thing was fine and preceded to walk towards her teacher, and former would-be step father.

"This isn't exactly the best time Mr. Medina." Rory steered Max into one of the vacant corridors, trying to get out of earshot of the other's.

"Best time Rory? I have no idea what's going on. Your mother and I are supposed to be getting married, what is a good time?" Max didn't look like he was in the mood to hear that his ex fiancé might at that moment, be in the arms of another man, so Rory decided to try and stall. All she needed was a plan, keeping forever in mind that if she ever turned out as a liar _or_ and accomplice in crime it was all her mother's fault, she preceded to come up with one.

"Would you come over this way Mr. Medina?"

"Um, sure." Max kept in his own mind that he wasn't in a position to refuse her, considering he didn't know the were abouts of Lorelai, and the lady with the bell at the desk didn't seem to feel like giving him any answers because he was soaking wet, which B&B'ers didn't allow in their rooms. He was supposedly supposed to wait until either Lorelai or Rory had come to fetch him so he could gain access to Lorelai because all the other rooms had currently been taken up.

Lorelai wasn't seeming to get any farther in the dream that she seemed to be having. Still trying to maintain a sleep like state all that she seemed to be able to get out of it was the feeling of Luke's hand in hers. Not that it wasn't nice, because it really was, it just seemed like that her psyche could be just a little bit nicer to her. While trying to turn farther towards the bed side opposite of Luke, she attempted to make herself more comfortable only to feel Luke's hand tug her back slightly. Bringing her back to reality.

She wasn't dreaming.

He was actually there.

She was still in the bed of the Cheshire Cat.

As all of these thoughts ran through her head on her own little train track which usually ran the complete opposite direction at this point, she turned to see him, really see him. The grogginess and blur had disappeared, leaving her with a dazed expression. "Luke?"

_"He'd been caught. She was awake. He wasn't hiding. That window formed by their hands had officially disappeared. His chance was gone."_ Luke now being fully panicked looked down at his feet only to find that his hand was still fitting in hers. He had expected it to be dropped by now. Maybe hope was still a possibility.

"Yes?" And the monosyllables of it all strikes again. He chastised himself for not trying to explain his presence before she jumps all over him…dirty.

Lorelai wasn't sure if she should come up to her feet now and kiss him or pull him down with her and kiss him, or there was that other option. Speaking. Which he might respond better to. Weighing her options with the little response time she had she picked the third one, why did he have to answer with so little any way. _"It's Luke, of course it would be short."_

"Why are you here?" She didn't know what expression to use to get the point that she wanted across, thought it might be helpful if she had an exact point to begin with. So she went for the smile.

After a pause between each other's responses they both found themselves fashioning the same shy smiles, while still trying to avert their eyes from their hands that still remained linked.

Luke sat down on the bed to try making their hands seem less awkward more understandable. "I heard that you left. I thought that I would come to make sure that you were all right."

_"The longest answer yet."_ Lorelai thought while motioning to sit up. She met Luke's gaze while she tried to level her body with his. Bringing Luke's hand to her knee while leaning into him, grateful for his concern.

"My hero."

She tried bringing out a laugh that might put him at more of an ease but it didn't come.

"So are you alright?"

Luke's hand situated itself better to fit Lorelai's causing him to brush up against her leg.

She could feel herself being filled with his concern, softening her expression while she leaned her side neared to his shoulder. Taking in the feel of his shirt yet again on her cheek and the smell of coffee strengthen. Causing her to relax more than she had been since the day he had come to her with the chuppah.

"I'm better." It wouldn't be fair for her to insinuate any further that he might be able to do more to help her. She had only just gotten up and seen him. It wouldn't be fair to ask any more from him, than the presence he had already supplied.

It wouldn't be fair…

The thought seemed to have occurred differently to Luke though. With out much time since her response he found that he had pulled her closer to him, enveloping her, trying to see more genuine smiles than he thought to have been getting. It wasn't fair that her running away for her own just reasons was bringing her pain. Little did he know that he was only deepening it by pulling her closer to the person she thought she couldn't have.

-TBC-

Spoiler for Never Meant chapter 7: Lucky number seven eh? Max begins to feel like he's being lead into a Wonderland all his own in the corridors of the Cheshire Cat while Luke and Lorelai try and figure out why exactly the other is there. So stay tuned k?

A/N: My longest chapter I've ever officially written. It's taken me a few hours to sort it out and now I have to proof read this thing. "Ugh." So please feel free to tell me what you think.

I wasn't quite sure if her party had occurred quite yet. I apologize if it hadn't.

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

Also, one or two last notes: Special thanks to Luke's Girl and Copperboom107 for talking me through this incredibly long chapter. I might have slept if she hadn't. And I suppose I shouldn't forget this either …**DISCLAIMED!**


	7. Chapter 7

Rory was beginning to get an uneasy feeling as she led Max through the corridors. She couldn't allow him upstairs, but she couldn't exactly lock him in a hall closet either, she still had classes to go through. She had a feeling that her recommendation letter might not a take a forced confinement very well.

But this was for her mom and Luke, so she figured that she would keep the option open anyways.

Max was beginning to feel that he was unwelcome. It didn't appear that Rory was leading him anywhere near the residential rooms. Looking around he didn't see any sign of Lorelai. The only evidence of her being there was her car in the parking lot next to the truck that he had opened his door on.

But he wasn't in the mood for remorse. He needed to see Lorelai as soon as possible, and Rory didn't seem to have the intention of actually helping him.

"Where are we going Rory?"

His voice tone still hadn't softened and burned Rory's ear with the frustration emanating from it.

"Umm."

Her reply was rushed and nervous. She didn't know what to do. Her mother was upstairs and apparently with Luke. She could only hope that all Luke was doing was comforting her mother. "_If it were anything more…and if Max stopped following her…deciding to investigate for himself-" _Rory quickly ended the thought there. That wasn't going to happen, she wouldn't let it. Her mother had to be happy and so did Luke, but she wanted Mr. Medina to be also, she just didn't know how to accomplish it.

Lorelai sat on the bed with her head pressed to Luke's chest, a tear escaping down her cheek.

"You know why I'm here, now why are you?" Luke looked down at her, afraid of her answer, afraid that she ran because she did indeed love Max, but had gotten cold feet.

Lorelai closed her eyes tightly as she heard the question that she had just been asking herself before she had drifted in the first place. The answers were lost to her still, but _"they had to come sometime right?" _

Believing that she might find it if she spoke, she did.

"I don't love him."

Luke pulled her closer after hearing this. The position they were in felt unreal. Any day before this, he would never believe that he would have to come after her, that he would be left to pick up all the pieces. It's not like he had never had to do it before, she had needed him several times before but never like this. He had never gotten to hold her in this way. He felt her silent tears submerge his shirt. It felt as if he were being cleansed of everything that had happened before, the memories of the day that he found that he loved her, the moment that he found he wasn't his to have, and the second that he had found that she never would be, the day that she had gotten engaged. All that was leaving now. He had his chance sitting right there before him, clinging to him, asking him. Wanting the comfort that he wished to give. Now finding himself running his hand through her hair, he decided that he couldn't miss this chance.

Lorelai felt the weight of his silence.

She had lied. Only a half lie but a lie never the less. She had never loved Max, not now and not then. He was a comfort, a settlement, a shoulder. She thought she might have loved him, that she could have loved him in time. It just wouldn't sit. That's still wasn't why she had left.

She couldn't have loved Max because without even knowing it, she had already been with some one else. It hadn't even been something intentional, it just happened like it was meant to. Nothing stuck in her mind on how it even occurred. Nothing seemed like any relevance until he brought her that chuppah. All of it had happened, bringing her closer to him but none of it had really struck her until then. She had always had a soft spot for him, not only had he given her coffee but so many other little things, not that coffee was a little thing, no not at all.

"There's nothing else?"

Luke broke through Lorelai's thoughts. He may not have ever said much unless he was ranting, which had become frequent in the recent days, but every time he did speak it always made you want to hold on to it. He always seemed to mean what ever he shared with the rest of the world, what ever he shared with her. His opinions of growth had been taken to heart that day and made her think that she wanted Luke to be the one that find out if his own words were true. If they could "evolve" at the same pace. _"They had done so this far, why not longer?"_ The thoughts had gone on to long, the chance was slipping and she could feel it, his grip was slipping with it.

The question still lingered, her answer held on to her breath begging to be released, but nothing came. Nothing came. She couldn't say anything. She shook her head at this in disbelief as she looked up him.

"Was it because of me?" He had meant their conversation the day before she had left but it didn't feel that way.

"Nothing else mattered."

With her answer she lifted slightly off the bed and met with him, connecting softly, trying to tell him everything, explaining years with a one hand held and the other now tracing over the hand at his side.

Max had had enough of being lead to nowhere. They had seemed to be going in circles with Rory's failing smile before him, trying to take him every which way, avoiding explaining.

"Rory I'm going upstairs to find Lorelai, whether I have to knock on all the doors or not is entirely up to you, but I need to know what's going on."

"I'm sorry Mr. Medina, but I can't let you see her right now. She's not in the best position for you to talk with her." It wasn't exactly a lie. No matter whatever exactly was going on up there.

With that Rory pulled her teacher into an open room that seemed to be meant for luggage storage, almost tripping over the cat that sat in front of it.

"So I'll wait, I'll get a hotel near here and come in the morning." He seemed to have calmed down at this point.

"That sounds like a good idea." It wasn't the time that had probably been needed but a night was better than a matter of minutes.

Ladonn was making the rounds in the hallways, making sure that all of the guests that were up and about would know that they were going to begin singing along with the piano music again. Thinking that she had heard something she turned the corner to see Sammy laying in front of a partially opened door.

"Oh there you are Sammy, lying in front of that door again. I know it's your favorite place but someone's going to trip over you." While she bent down to pick him up music began to emanate from the main room, silencing whatever had drawn her there in the first place. "Looks like they've started without us." Ladonn shrugged under Sammy's weight and closed the door before her, causing a click. "Come on Sammy, we can't keep everyone waiting." The cat seemed to grimace at the high squeaks coming from his owner, looking back at the door over her shoulder.

"What just clicked?" Rory inquired while trying not to look back at the door behind her, afraid of what she might find.

Luke paused after the break in connection between them. He contemplated giving into the childish urge of pinching himself as he watched Lorelai lowering herself back to her previous position on the bed.

"Nothing else mattered, but you."

Hearing these words Luke lost all thought he might have possessed under different circumstances, the singing that had rose in the background hadn't even fazed them. Meeting her again he lost himself as she responded. Nothing meant but her.

-TBC-

A/N:I'm sorry that this one was shorter than I intended but it just seemed like I should break there. The scene between Luke and Lorelai was probably what seemed like made it last forever on this end. I had Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata playing in the background, which set its slow mood, if you didn't perceive it that way. Thank you to all the reviewers thus far. I'm not sure how much longer this fic will continue but I hope that you guys liked it, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it myself. I know that Lorelai seems really sad and mixed up, but I always pictured her as such after giving up something that should have been good for her, the right person or other wise…

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

En


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I think I might start this one out with an author's note this time. Whether you read it or not is completely up to you cause it's mostly only for my own entertainment at this point. If you just read my good friend Copperboom107's latest update such as I just did, and if you haven't you should cause it's worth the read But we have challenge going on about our update rate, technically I still hold the lead by a good amount, but as threatened and insecure as I am as an entity on the internet I'm going to try and keep up with this "update every day that I live until satisfied" bit. So bear with me if you have a short attention span or patience level and yes that emotion icon is a _very_ common occurrence with me.**

**My hat off to you Copper, but En shall try to win! So on with the Nothingness!**

"Please don't tell me that we're stuck in here."

"I'm going to do my sanity a favor and leave that question unanswered."

Rory had tried the knob already and had found the fact out for herself moments before, but apparently Max was trying to avert a meltdown.

"Lorelai will come down and look for you soon won't she?"

"Some how I'm doubting that."

It was a general retort. She had originally gone out for a walk with a book in her pocket, which hinted to Lorelai that she could be anywhere held up reading in a corner some where for any extended amount of time. Especially if the other guests were out and about, making Rory's escape chances from the down stairs, nil. It didn't seem necessary to her yet to mention Luke's presence, considering that she wasn't quite sure why he was here in the first place. She had an idea, but nothing definite. Though still nothing short of some of the town's enthusiastic views on the matter. _"Oh how Miss Patty would love this."_ How much the whole of the town would love this. Rory didn't even want to think about the rumors that could be flying around with both the Gilmore's and Luke gone at the same time.

"Why not?"

Max was getting a little thrown by Rory's recent short and general answers. She wasn't even telling him about why Lorelai had ran and what he could do to get her back. Usually Rory would be trying to explain her mother's actions to him in attempt to help him in some way, but now he wasn't getting anything out of her. Like she didn't want him there.

The drift, apparently, hadn't been gotten in his idealistic little mind.

"She was sleeping when I left." Still not lying yet, her mom had indeed been about ready to drift off as she had left, hearing her mother's incoherent babble of the B&B's lack of coffee supply and how they should all be devoured by talking muffin's which of course had started to talk when the B&B's stopped serving them with coffee, which was the only thing that they tasted good with, which caused them not to be eaten, which made them so angry that they developed lips so they could talk and yell, "ABOUT THE LACK OF COFFEE!" Rory remembered her mother's last line and added a mental connection, "Thus the reason for them to be "devouring" talking muffins."

"So we could be here for awhile."

Max had given up on the questions at this point. It was clear to him that none of them were going to be answered at the rate he was going.

"Seems like."

Rory settled down to the floor, leaning against the door behind her, _"This, could be difficult."_

Lorelai marveled as Luke looked down at her, pulling away slightly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Luke chastised himself for his rashness. She had just ran away from her fiancé, she had been crying, and sleeping. She needed comfort and you kissed her.

She looked at him as if to memorize every aspect of his face, searching him for some kind of flaw.

There wasn't any . "I believe there was some participation on my part." Smiling at him she leaned in again-

"Turn down service!" rang through the room as Ladonn turned the doorknob, finding her guest and her guest's caller in quite the awkward position. "I'm sorry, your daughter said that you were asleep, so I thought I would see if you were alright."

"And turn down the bed I'd be in apparently." Lorelai smiled as she shifted out of Luke's partial embrace.

"Well we've only seen you once or twice down there, you always seem to sneak right past us. And you, Mr. Danes, I think I'm beginning to understand your rush to get the room number.

Lorelai looked to him while raising her eyebrow at him playfully.

"Well, you know, I was worried."

"So I noticed." She situated her back to Luke and smiled at Ladonn. "I can turn down the bed thanks, it wouldn't be the first time. Where is Rory anyway?"

Lorelai turned to Luke, directing the question to him. "Did you see her on your way up?"

"No, I just came up here to find you talking in your sleep."

"You do seem to be the type for timing." Lorelai blushed, wondering what he might have heard.

Ladonn felt as if she didn't cut in now, she wouldn't get another chance that wouldn't catch her in another embarrassing situation. "She was at dinner, but then another man that had called for you earlier arrived. I assumed that you knew?"

"How would he know I was here?" Lorelai seemed to be asking herself more than anyone, panicking slightly at where Max might be at that moment, or better yet we're he'd been. She hadn't told any one where she was going. She never even knew where she was going when she left. "And how did you know where I was?" Lorelai looked up at Luke.

"Oh, they called." Ladonn answered simply.

Lorelai turned to the owner, still not quite understanding. "Called?' Her tone was more of a reaction than an expression. "Called where?"

"On your phone."

Max fidgeted, looking at the walls surrounding them while sitting on a carry-on. Looking to Rory as she read her book.

"Hear anything outside?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Rory looked up from her book while replying awkwardly. "Just them singing again."

Max listened as the sound carried on. "Lady Marmalade again huh?"

"Yep."

"Think they know what they're saying."

"Yep."

"Scary."

"Yep."

Max had had about enough of the short cold shoulder answers. He was there for a reason, concerning them both at this point. "Why are you and your mom here Rory?"

"She wanted to go, so we packed and left."

"You know what I mean."

Max looked at Rory as she tried to focus on her book, acting like she hadn't heard him, like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I went to Luke's this morning." Max mumbled the confession, causing Rory to look up from her book.

"Why were you there?" Rory set down the book in her lap still trying to avoid eye contact.

"You tell me, I thought that out of anyone else, he would have know where to find you and her."

Just then Max's cell rang in his pocket. Surprised at the sound, considering all that he would have had to do in the first place was call the front desk to escape he picked it up.

"Hello?"

It had just dawned on Sookie, that if Lorelai was out of town and that she had already disregarded her wedding cake, then she just might want to inform the groom about everything.

"I'm so sorry Max."

Sookie had tried to calm herself but Max could here the speaking in the apology over the phone.

"I already got the message Sookie, thanks."

He tried to sound as unhurt as he could, but he could feel Rory looking up at him. Knowing what Sookie was calling for.

Rory felt almost guilty for her sympathy. Sure, her mom had left for her reasons, which were probably for the best. But here she had left Mr. Medina, Max, her teacher back in Hartford thinking that he was getting married.

Max hung up the phone after hearing Sookie's apologies.

"I am really sorry Mr. Medina."

Max heard her genuine concern and smiled slightly. "It's fine, not your fault anyway, I probably shouldn't have come after all." It had hit him that if Sookie was calling telling him that the wedding was off, then it really was official, not to mention Rory leading him around in circles. He should have caught it before. "Let's call the desk and get us out of here."

"Sounds good." Rory forced a smile and picked back up her book.

Lorelai watched Ladonn leave as a maid told her that she had a call.

"I don't know if I should feel invaded, happy, or angry that she picked up my phone." Lorelai settled back into Luke, wandering what exactly was happening now. If Max were here, shouldn't she be trying to distance herself from the new development at hand?

"I think grateful would be it for me." Luke smiled down at Lorelai. I think we should try and find Rory.

Both hoped that Max had already left.

Luke and Lorelai made it down to the first floor while coming down the stairs. Lorelai stopped Luke from going any farther. "Shh…"

"What?" Luke stopped as her arm came before him.

"Look." Lorelai gestured down into the main room, revealing the source of the music that they had just begun to mention.

"Aw Jeeze." Luke saw the band of domestic vacationers singing some god-awful song.

"You have to be quite or they'll drag you down there and make you sing with them, asking you questions about your diner and your good looking girl friend." Lorelai looked up at him teasingly, after seeing him smile at the comment she looked back down at the crowd below. "Is that Lady Marmalade, oh my god Luke, we're in the Moulin Rouge!"

Luke was the one to silence her this time, only by holding her hips. "Quiet, they'll hear you, and I do not want to be asking anyone down there that."

Lorelai met with his hands on her hips and brought them to her stomach. "Luke Dane's I do believe that deserves a dirty."

"Let's just get down there and find Rory okay?" Luke tried not to smile at her but couldn't help himself as they tried to sneak down the stairs while still togther.

Max and Rory had been released from the luggage room and comfortable stretched in the hallway as Ladonn apologized, wondering how they had gotten there in the place. Only to leave after tripping over Sammy, who had knocked some clean towels for the next room she had to go to out of her hands.

After walking down the hall a bit trying to follow the sound of the singing coming from the main room, considering neither had explored much around the area before.

Luke and Lorelai on the other hand where trying not to let on to each other that they were grinning like idiots while walking down the halls, just narrowly escaping the one that Lorelai had referred to "The space pen dentist on the right." Who seemed to want to run away along with them than stay and listen to one more performance of the French tune that was unfortunately being led by his wife. The one that sounded like she was about to break the glass in the windows, as well as the windows in the parking lot.

They stumbled together while looking in some of the other nooks and dining rooms for any sign of Rory. Lorelai kept on talking and Luke would respond which would result in a grin or a touch from one of them, mostly at the same time from both of them.

While turning the corner Lorelai spotted her daughter turning the corner in front of her. "Rory! There you are, it seems that the residence all have dreams of being Zidler's Diamond Dogs in a night club, now all we need is to find you a penniless-" Lorelai's voice faded as she saw Max come behind her and Rory's expression come to an "I'm sorry."

"Max?"

-TBC-

Well, I started this around 5pm today and found myself being dragged off to watch "The Bishop's Wife", great movie by the way, and then was forced into the new Stargate, leaving me with 2 ½ pages of 8 text left to write before I would get to the end. Lol Oh well.

I don't know what all you'll get out of this chapter, but it was a beast to write. Thank you for all of your reviews! I might just start singing "vulu vucu she' as se swa" right now. Okay, so I don't speak French and I don't know how to spell it. That much has been apparent from the beginning lol. Thank you Luke's Girl, goclo, and forever Copperboom107. I would wake up with keyboard keys embedded in my cheek if it weren't for you.

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

You're turn now Copper,

En


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, this doesn't look at all suspicious." Max expression didn't give way to much surprise.

"Luke was worried about me." Lorelai's words didn't sound as sure as usual. She caught falling gaze and followed it to her stomach, remembering what was there.

"Oh, um." Lorelai brushed Luke's embrace off softly, blushing in the action.

"Clearly."

Lorelai opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, whispering, "I'm really sorry Max."

Rory looked between her mom and her teacher, and then to Luke. He seemed to be feeling as out of place as her. She could see that if he stayed to hear her mom and Max argue or make up that something could go wrong, so she approached him, staying close to the hallway wall.

Luke heard Rory speak to him, trying to signal him to follow her. He turned to walk after her, turning another corner and looked back at Lorelai and Max, who were currently still in a small silence with Lorelai looking down and Max staring at her. His expression unreadable. Turning after Rory, he followed.

"Would you care to tell me what exactly has been going on these past few days?" Max was still going over how Luke had gotten there before him, and the headache that he had had wasn't getting any better after just seeing his fiancé's and the "He's just a friend" that he had heard so much about, in that particular position. Not to mention the pictures of the other positions they might have been in while he was stuck in that stupid closet.

"I can't marry you Max." Lorelai had been dreading this. She had hoped that the word of him coming hadn't ever happened and that she were still up in the room with Luke, but apparently reality had it's own ideas about what she needed to be doing.

"So I gathered."

Rory pulled Luke into one of the dining rooms as Max and Lorelai got out of earshot. "What are your intentions?"

The question caught Luke off guard, it wasn't what he expected on hearing right after she had just witnessed the chaos that seemed set on happening. "Um." Luke looked around nervously while trying to avoid Rory's stare.

"I need to know if my leading around Mr. Medina and getting stuck in a luggage closet was worth it or not. I need a recommendation letter and a good grade to get to Harvard you know."

Rory tried stating her qualms as calmly as she could under the circumstances. She would have loved having Mr. Medina as a stepfather, he may not really have ever been on the Gilmore's same page but he did seem to bring some kind of steadiness to their usually wacky lifestyle.

"You did that?"

He had been wondering where she and Max had been all that time he was up in the room with Lorelai, but he didn't think that Rory would have been deliberately been trying to avert him away. If Rory hadn't, the moment upstairs might not have gone so smoothly. He made sure to take a mental note of giving Rory coffee whenever she asked from then on.

"As difficult a task of accidentally getting locked in a closet with your teacher is, yes I did. So was this in vain or not?"

"I'm not sure about answering this without your mom present, but I think, no I know, I know it was." Luke seemed to be going through quite a lot of conflicting versions of what might have gone up on the bed a few minutes ago and on the stair case and what was going on in the hallway not so far away.

"Glad to see you're so sure." Rory couldn't help but smile at Luke's awkwardness, like he had no clue what so ever of what was going on.

Which he didn't.

Luke kept on thinking that what had happened might have been a fluke, _"a very long and carried out fluke_, _but a fluke non the less. She was getting married, to her daughter's teacher no less, and it was supposed to be in a few days!"_

"What were you guys doing up there to make you _think_, maybe, yes it was worth it."

Rory smiled. She enjoyed messing around with Luke like this. It felt like she were teasing an older brother or friend about how a date went. _"Father wouldn't be quite the correct term for that analogy, because that would imply that he wasn't with mom…"_ this train thought intrigued her.

Luke blushed at this and tried to hide the smile that was threatening to spread across his face.

Seeing this Rory beamed. "I'm so happy for you!" With that she hugged him, she may have liked Max as a maybe constant but Luke seemed to fit better, know their quirks and manage to get by them by only having to roll his eyes or make a remark about an early death count pertaining to other's with their eating habits.

Luke froze as Rory gave him a quick hug. With an awkward laugh returned it.

"How'd he get here so fast? Did you give him directions?"

Lorelai doubled back is she heard the question. _"She had just been thinking about the best way to explain everything that had been going on, that he unfortunately had to put on hold, and now she asks her how Luke got there at the speed he did?"_ This was an odd turn of conversation.

"He drove here I'm guessing, and know, he showed up without much warning."

"I left right after I saw him too…" Max was beginning to mumble now Lorelai noticed.

"You saw him?"

"Yep, right before I left to come here I went to his apartment to see if you were there…"

Lorelai tensed up at this.

"Why would I have been there?"

She didn't know whether to feel insulted at the insinuation or give a sigh of relief that the thing between her and Luke wouldn't be such a shock. Not that she was particularly sure what the "thing" was exactly. She was still on a buzz from the whole situation of earlier and Max had always hinted that he had suspicious before. _"Alright, so suspicious might be an understatement. He had practically accused her of being with him during their previous break up, but that didn't mean that he thought that what didn't happen then was still carrying over since then."_

"You're kidding me right?"

Max seemed so sure that he had hit this on the head, and it showed as he spoke. It was like he had already accepted it but was still reluctant to admit that he had loss. Lorelai felt awful that he had really trusted her so little, but in the affect of the current events of the evening, it didn't seem like he should have.

"There really wasn't anything before." It was her last defense. The argument couldn't seem to get any stronger than that. There was nothing else that she could say with out digging a deeper hole than she already had.

Rory and Luke had dodged into another hallway as a stray guest had walked by, still humming something or other. Rory thought she recognized it as a Bowie tune but was to busy finding an exit to mention it, the reference would probably go wasted on Luke. She didn't seem to get the same pleasure from his "Jeeze" as her mother did, which was probably for the best.

"So are you and mom together now?"

"I thought we were."

He seemed so sad. He and mom and shared something up there. Rory didn't exactly want to picture anything, but knowing how her mom and Luke seemed to click, like the door and the lock coincidentally, she knew it had to have been something that she would hear about later, hopefully edited and abridged.

"I think you are."

"You think so?"

It still seemed kind of odd to Luke to be having this conversation with his somewhat surrogate daughter, but it was nice to have some kind of reassurance. He wasn't sure when he'd get any more.

"I know so."

They continued walking down the hall, passing several rain-laced windows. She hoped so.

-TBC-

Sorry for the shortness again, I had to recover from loosing half of my day to running around without purpose. As well as yesterday, or the day before's , now that it's half past midnight. My mom got back from Atlanta when I was about to post it so it's a little late now I hope that you guys forgive easily.

Thank you again Cooperboom107, Luke's Girl, and goclo I couldn't do this without you. Cravingcoffee as well!

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

You're turn now Copper, doubly so lol,

En


	10. Chapter 10

Luke and Rory where sitting in some chairs after the other guests had cleared out after singing "It's Raining Men" an interesting title for a group made up of men and women alike, who 89 percent of which were senior citizens. The rain had began to slow at this point.

Rory looked out the window closest to her and watched as the rain traced down its panes.

"How long do you think they've been talking?"

Luke had started to become concerned as the time had past. Every minute that slipped by, he felt his chance with Lorelai was slipping with it.

"I think it's been an hour and a half now."

Rory kept on staring out the window, she had finished her book about twenty minutes ago and the contents of the shelves mostly held children's books.

"You're not worried?"

"Hm?"

Rory glanced away from the window and saw the worry weighing on Luke's face.

"About what they're talking about…"

Luke turned away and looked out the window opposite him.

"It's not politics Luke, the worst that could happen as that mom slaps him or something. Though I suppose that could apply to politics as well."

A smile was felt by both of them. She was trying her best to comfort him, but she had her own doubts. She knew her mother wasn't the most decisive type of person when it came to relationships, she was offered a future with Max. A future together, apparently that had definitely scared her, or none of them would be here, and she had said that she hadn't loved him, but minds could change.

Lorelai had indeed done some damage.

The whole conversation hadn't been going very smoothly. At first it had started out civil but then Max gave into her suspicion that it had only started that way because he thought he could "take" her back. That he didn't "care" what she had just done, which was apparently sleep with Luke, and that he would "forgive" her for running from him. The conversation about her recent mistakes had gone on for a lot longer than it should for her taste. Where he got the nerve to say such things, she had had no idea. So she left the hall and went into another abandoned dining room, slamming the door behind her, which intern hit Max square in the face.

Lorelai ignored his thump to the floor and headed back into the main room.

Smiling assuredly at Rory she sat down next to Luke.

"So, how'd it go?"

Rory inquired hesitantly, still not quite sure what to make of her smile but did smile back as she saw her mother sit next to Luke, who looked quite surprised in fact.

"What's the matter? This seat taken?"

The question towards Luke was enough for Rory to know her mom's decision, and couldn't say that she was at all unhappy. Rory got up and left, knowing the signal smile from her mother, telling her that if she didn't want to be completely scarred that she should leave the room.

"Um, n-no not taken."

Luke felt almost foolish for his stumbling. Here Lorelai was looking at him and all he could do was stutter, not a good sign.

"Glad to hear it, I was afraid that you might have run off with someone else."

"And when have I ever expressed any interest in a woman with a cane?"

"Who know, you might have been hiding a cane fetish from me all these years."

"I would think that if I had any fetishes, that you would know them all by now."

"Assuming you have any of course."

Lorelai smiled coyly at him, it felt like the conversation with Max hadn't even happened, well happened, but hadn't phased them at all.

"Oh, I might have a few." Luke seemed to inch closer.

"Really? Might I be familiar with any of these _fetishes_?"

Lorelai gave into Luke's inchings and began to pull her self closer as well.

"Who knows, you just might."

Lorelai had planned on another reply but was hushed by him, as he connected with her softly.

Max was currently on the phone at the front desk, calling an ambulance for his supposedly broken nose he caught them from the corner of his eye, kissing no less. He kept the phone to his ear being, ironically enough, on hold and walked over beside the main door and watched them, his broken face hurting more with every increasing moment he saw. Clutching a hanker chief over his face with the other hand, he maneuvered himself behind the curtain he had his back to and continued to spy them as he waited for someone to pick up on the other line.

The rain had quieted and had for a split second had averted Lorelai's attention to the window nearest to them.

"Look."

Trying not to break away Luke tried continuing but was denied as she spoke again.

"The rain's stopping."

"And?"

"Don't you want to go outside?"

Lorelai asked as if there wasn't anything peculiar about running out into the middle of the rain, ending what they had been doing. But he supposed that he might as well concede, he was sure that she would be able to find even more ways now to persuade him to do what ever she could think of.

Getting up Luke saw Lorelai's eyes light up. She flung her self around him while passing him. Grabbing his hand she dragged him to the door, flinging it wide open. Causing a groan to echo behind it.

Lorelai and Luke were already cleared of the door when it sounded so didn't pay it much mind.

Max then promptly lowered himself to the ground while clutching his nose tighter than ever, and leaned down from the pain that stung from the doorknob. "Yes, I would like to call for an ambulance, Cheshire Cat Bed and Breakfast of Connecticut, yes, I'll hold…" The elevator music then sounded in his ears, but went unnoticed from the ever growing ringing in his head. "Oww…"

Luke and Lorelai stood in the middle of the front lawn of the Cheshire Cat while the rain began slowing.

Lorelai was reveling in the smell and feel of the rain on her skin while Luke was looking at her, reveling in the smell of the rain and the sight of her being slowly showered in it. He couldn't recall ever seeing anything like it.

She was breath taking, her happiness felt like all the rest of the happiness in the world had fled their moments and had come to her, only be jealous of the joy that she had possessed all her self.

"What's the matter?"

Lorelai looked over to him, only to find him looking at her.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like your about to do something."

Luke leaned into her yet again. "Like this?"

Lorelai had to take a moment to recover, it seemed like they had been doing this for years, but it had only technically been a few hours.

"I was thinking more of the lines of jumping me in the rain, but that works too."

She caught herself grinning at him again, this seemed to becoming a frequent occurrence she had noticed.

"And what's wrong with that?"

Lorelai laughed at this and found Luke grinning right along with her.

It seemed like everything was falling into place. Before she knew it they were together again, standing in the rain.

Both standing into each other, they deepened. Sirens sounded around them as the ambulance rounded the corner of the driveway, but they didn't hear a thing. From the time that they had gone in and found an unconscious Max lying near the thresh hold and the moment that they loaded him on the stretcher, the most that the two responded was moving sideways to a tree to get out of the way.

"Thank you for coming to look for me Luke…"

Lorelai whipered in his ear.

"Thank the lady with the bell."

They both smiled and watched the ambulance pull away.

"What do you think all that was about?"

"No idea."

-TBC-

A/N…I think…up to you guys really. I hope you liked the new chapter. Lol After all of the requests on Max's health I felt that he needed a minor punishing . Thank you guys for all of your support so far.

Copperboom107

Luke's Girl

GoClo

LaurenIsMe

Cravingcoffee

And to all the others that review and read

If I don't catch all of grammar errors, I'm sorry to say that they're like Jess, please tell me, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing them.

RORY: Maybe, like, you could limit the reports to just significant sightings. If you see him a hundred yards away, disappearing around a corner, I really don't need to know that. If he comes up to you and spits in your face, report that.

LORELAI: Permission to spit back?

You're turn now Copper, triply so now lol,

En


End file.
